Signal Hunters: Cutting-Edge Technology for Interference Mitigation

For wireless carriers, signal interference is a serious problem. When this occurs, customers may experience dropped calls, have trouble using data and, in general, experience poor service from their provider.

Enter Signal Hunters.

“We are trying as much as possible to market ourselves as the premiere interference and mitigation service in the country,” says Keefe Guy, the head of Technical Sales at Signal Hunters. “We want to be the first choice of any tower operator, carrier or local government when they experience interference from their spectrum.”

Launched in November 2015, Signal Hunters is a division of CellAntenna Corporation, an international company based in Coral Springs, Florida focused on in-building wireless systems.

Signal Hunters specializes in RF spectrum analysis, which is nothing new in the wireless industry, but it makes use of very advanced technology to do such analysis: OpenSky Drones.

Once the company is able to locate the general source of interference using the traditional method of a spectrum analyzer on the ground, it deploys a tethered or untethered drone to more precisely locate the interference source, something Guy says is unique to his company.

“What differentiates us from our competition is that we’re marketing our services as not just a traditional signal detecting company,” Guy says. “By utilizing drones, it gives us the opportunity to isolate the interference much more precisely and then mitigate that interference for the client. “

Oftentimes, the source of interference is poor cabling, faulty lighting or poorly designed electronic equipment, Guy says. Such interference can be extremely upsetting to a carrier’s coverage.

Once the source is identified, Signal Hunters will work with the offender to help rectify the problem, as well as file the requisite FCC CTIX report.

Still in its infancy, Signal Hunters has focused primarily in the southeastern region of the United States, in close proximity to the company’s headquarters in Coral Springs, FL. The company targets any operator of spectrum, including carriers, government agencies and tower operators.

In addition to signal interference and mitigation services, Guy says the company markets the use of drones for other services it provides, including for tower inspections, audits or for the completion of closeout packages.

“A tower operator may need to capture a photo or video of the condition of the antenna that is mounted on the tower, so we can, with a very high-powered camera, fly a drone to any elevation on the tower and zoom in closely to see equipment located several hundred feet on the tower,” Guy says.